Leading and Managing Change Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Senior Managers, Programme Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CM-077

Before you join: Participants should have experience managing people, projects, services or operational improvement work.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Major change programmes often fail after approval because leaders underestimate the human and operational work required to move from a current state to a new way of working. New systems, restructures, policy reforms, service redesigns and mergers can create uncertainty, competing priorities and resistance. Leaders must define the case for change, identify affected groups, maintain operational control and build commitment while delivery teams manage deadlines, costs and risks.

This course develops the practical leadership and management disciplines needed to plan, lead and sustain organisational change. Participants use Kotter’s 8-Step Process, the ADKAR model, stakeholder mapping, change impact assessment, RACI matrices, readiness assessment and transition planning. They learn to diagnose the change context, establish sponsorship, shape a credible change story, manage resistance, plan communications, involve employees, align managers and measure adoption. The course also addresses political dynamics, cultural factors, ethical decisions, programme governance and the relationship between project delivery and change adoption.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with cases drawn from public-sector reform, banking transformation, technology implementation, NGO programme change and corporate restructuring. Participants apply each method to a live or realistic change initiative from the first week, progressively building an integrated change leadership plan. They leave with a reviewed plan containing stakeholder analysis, sponsor actions, communications, resistance responses, readiness measures, adoption indicators and sustainment actions.

The course suits managers responsible for implementing significant change, as well as professionals supporting transformation programmes, operational improvement, digital implementation or organisational restructuring. It is particularly relevant where leaders must secure adoption from people who do not report directly to them.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose change drivers, constraints and organisational readiness using structured assessment methods
  • Build a stakeholder map and engagement strategy for a defined change initiative
  • Create a change case, vision statement and leadership narrative for affected groups
  • Apply Kotter’s 8-Step Process and ADKAR to sequence change activities
  • Develop communications, sponsorship and manager-action plans that support adoption
  • Manage resistance through listening, diagnosis, response planning and escalation routes
  • Measure change readiness, adoption and benefits using practical indicators and review cycles
  • Present an integrated change leadership plan for a live organisational initiative

Benefits of attending

For you

  • A repeatable method for turning broad change intentions into managed actions
  • Greater confidence leading difficult conversations about uncertainty and resistance
  • Stronger credibility with sponsors, managers and affected employee groups
  • Practical evidence for leading transformation, programme or senior management roles
  • A completed change leadership plan for immediate workplace use

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of adoption risks, stakeholder concerns and delivery barriers
  • Clearer sponsor accountability and manager responsibilities during implementation
  • Better employee communication before process, technology or structural changes go live
  • Reduced disruption through planned readiness checks and transition support
  • More consistent tracking of adoption, benefits and post-implementation actions

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can distinguish change leadership responsibilities from change management activities.

  • Distinguishing change leadership, change management, project management and operational control
  • Sources of change: strategy, regulation, technology, performance and public expectations
  • Planned, emergent, incremental and transformational change compared through practical consequences
  • Leadership roles during uncertainty, ambiguity, conflict and shifting priorities
  • Change failure patterns: weak sponsorship, poor diagnosis, overload and disengagement
  • Personal leadership assumptions examined through a change response profile

Participants can diagnose the forces, constraints and risks shaping a change initiative.

  • PESTLE analysis identifies external pressures affecting the proposed change
  • Force Field Analysis separates driving forces from restraining forces
  • Problem statements distinguish symptoms, root causes and desired outcomes
  • Current-state mapping captures processes, roles, systems and decision points
  • Change scope defines boundaries, dependencies, assumptions and excluded work
  • Risk assumptions tested against evidence, operational realities and stakeholder feedback

Participants can produce a structured assessment of how change affects people and work.

  • Change impact assessment compares current and future roles, processes and systems
  • Affected-group segmentation separates employees, customers, partners and regulators
  • Impact categories cover capability, workload, authority, location and working practices
  • Heat maps prioritise high-impact groups requiring focused transition support
  • Role-level impacts identify changed tasks, decisions, skills and accountabilities
  • Dependencies link business readiness to technical, policy and operational milestones

Participants can identify stakeholder priorities and plan proportionate engagement actions.

  • Stakeholder maps classify influence, interest, impact, attitude and required involvement
  • Power-interest grids determine communication intensity and engagement approaches
  • Stakeholder interviews surface concerns, incentives, informal influence and conflicting priorities
  • Engagement strategies differentiate consultation, participation, negotiation and informed communication
  • Coalition building recruits credible advocates across formal and informal networks
  • Stakeholder registers record commitments, concerns, owners and follow-up dates

Participants can create an evidence-based case that explains why change is necessary.

  • Burning-platform messages balance urgency with factual evidence and credible consequences
  • Case-for-change structure links problem, evidence, options, benefits and consequences
  • Baseline data establishes current performance, cost, service and compliance conditions
  • Benefit statements separate organisational outcomes from individual stakeholder benefits
  • Risk of inaction clarifies financial, operational, regulatory and reputational exposure
  • Leadership narratives address difficult trade-offs without overstating certainty

Participants can define a future-state vision that guides decisions and behaviour.

  • Future-state vision describes observable service, process, capability and behavioural outcomes
  • Design principles translate strategy into practical choices during implementation
  • Outcome measures distinguish outputs, adoption, performance improvements and realised benefits
  • Vision statements tested for clarity, credibility, relevance and emotional resonance
  • Strategic alignment maps change outcomes to organisational priorities and commitments
  • Trade-off criteria guide decisions when cost, speed, quality and inclusion conflict

Participants can sequence a change programme using Kotter’s 8-Step Process.

  • Kotter’s urgency step converts evidence into a shared need for action
  • Guiding coalitions combine formal authority, expertise, credibility and network reach
  • Strategic vision and initiatives connect long-term direction with immediate action
  • Enlisting volunteers creates broad participation beyond the formal programme team
  • Barrier removal addresses policies, structures, skills and managerial behaviours
  • Short-term wins demonstrate progress, reinforce confidence and protect momentum

Participants can use ADKAR to diagnose and support individual adoption barriers.

  • ADKAR awareness identifies understanding of why the change is necessary
  • Desire assessments explore motivation, perceived losses, incentives and personal concerns
  • Knowledge planning specifies training, guidance, job aids and expert support
  • Ability checks test whether people can perform changed tasks reliably
  • Reinforcement mechanisms use recognition, feedback, measures and consequence management
  • ADKAR diagnoses target interventions for distinct adoption barriers

Participants can establish sponsor roles, governance decisions and escalation arrangements.

  • Sponsor assessments test authority, visibility, commitment, availability and credibility
  • Sponsor roadmaps schedule visible actions, key messages and decision points
  • RACI matrices clarify responsibility, accountability, consultation and information flows
  • Change governance defines forums, membership, mandates, decisions and reporting cadence
  • Escalation routes address unresolved conflicts, resource constraints and policy barriers
  • Sponsor-manager alignment prevents contradictory messages and unmanaged local variation

Participants can equip line managers to lead local adoption and performance continuity.

  • Line-manager roles translate organisational change into local team priorities
  • Manager briefings prepare consistent messages, answers and escalation boundaries
  • Team conversation guides address concerns, workload, priorities and personal impacts
  • One-to-one discussions identify individual readiness, capability and support requirements
  • Manager capability plans combine training, coaching, peer support and practical resources
  • Performance expectations maintain service standards during transition periods

Participants can design communications that build understanding, dialogue and sustained attention.

  • Audience-message matrices align content, channel, timing, owner and desired response
  • Communication plans distinguish awareness messages from behaviour-change instructions
  • Message architecture combines rationale, impact, action, support and feedback routes
  • Channel selection weighs reach, confidentiality, dialogue, accessibility and manager capacity
  • Frequently asked questions address uncertainty without promising unapproved outcomes
  • Communication calendars coordinate sponsor, manager, programme and employee messages

Participants can select involvement methods that improve decisions and build ownership.

  • Participation levels range from informing through consultation to delegated decision-making
  • Co-design workshops gather user insight before process, service and policy decisions
  • Employee representative engagement identifies workforce implications and consultation requirements
  • Pilot groups test future-state processes under controlled operational conditions
  • Feedback loops show how input changed decisions, plans or implementation priorities
  • Involvement boundaries prevent false consultation and unmanaged decision expectations

Participants can diagnose resistance and respond constructively to concerns and conflict.

  • Resistance signals include delay, withdrawal, criticism, workarounds and passive compliance
  • Root-cause analysis separates misinformation, capability gaps, incentives and genuine objections
  • Bridges Transition Model distinguishes endings, neutral zones and new beginnings
  • Active listening techniques uncover interests beneath stated positions and emotional reactions
  • Difficult conversations use observation, impact, inquiry and agreed next actions
  • Response plans distinguish issues requiring explanation, support, redesign or escalation

Participants can assess readiness and plan capability support before implementation milestones.

  • Readiness assessments review leadership, process, technology, skills, capacity and commitment
  • Readiness criteria define minimum conditions before pilots, launch or handover
  • Capability gap analysis compares required behaviours with current demonstrated proficiency
  • Training needs analysis identifies audience groups, tasks, methods and timing
  • Job aids support changed decisions, procedures, controls and customer interactions
  • Readiness review meetings assign corrective actions, owners and completion evidence

Participants can plan safe transition from current operations to the future state.

  • Transition plans sequence cutover, parallel running, support and contingency arrangements
  • Business continuity controls protect critical services during process and system changes
  • Milestone plans connect technical deployment with people readiness and communication actions
  • Hypercare arrangements provide intensified support after launch and early adoption
  • Issue logs distinguish defects, adoption problems, policy gaps and capacity constraints
  • Handover criteria transfer ownership from programme teams to operational managers

Participants can define measures that show whether change has been adopted and sustained.

  • Adoption metrics track usage, compliance, proficiency, participation and manager follow-through
  • Leading indicators identify emerging readiness problems before performance declines
  • Lagging indicators test service, cost, quality, risk and customer outcomes
  • Benefits maps connect change activities to outputs, outcomes and value
  • Pulse surveys gather timely evidence on understanding, confidence and obstacles
  • Review cadences convert data into decisions, corrective actions and sponsor updates

Participants can account for cultural, political and ethical factors in change decisions.

  • Cultural diagnosis identifies shared norms, symbols, routines and unwritten rules
  • Informal networks shape information flow, legitimacy, resistance and local adaptation
  • Political mapping identifies interests, alliances, power bases and contested decisions
  • Ethical impact reviews examine fairness, transparency, privacy and employee treatment
  • Psychological safety supports speaking up about risks, errors and unintended effects
  • Inclusion checks test whether change actions disadvantage particular employee groups

Participants can embed new practices through reinforcement, governance and continuous improvement.

  • Standard operating procedures incorporate changed roles, controls and decision rules
  • Performance management reinforces required behaviours through objectives and feedback
  • Recognition methods acknowledge adoption, problem solving and local improvement contributions
  • Post-implementation reviews capture lessons, unresolved issues and improvement priorities
  • Communities of practice spread effective methods between teams and locations
  • Sustainment plans assign ownership, measures, review dates and intervention thresholds

Participants can adapt change leadership actions when conditions, risks or priorities shift.

  • Scenario planning tests change plans against plausible operational and political disruptions
  • Decision logs record assumptions, evidence, authority and rationale for major choices
  • Adaptive leadership distinguishes technical problems from contested adaptive challenges
  • Priority reviews identify work to stop, defer, accelerate or protect
  • Crisis communications maintain factual updates, empathy and clear action instructions
  • Leadership resilience routines manage pressure, conflict, uncertainty and sustained visibility

Participants can build, review and present a complete change leadership plan for a defined initiative.

  • Change charter defines objectives, scope, governance, assumptions and success measures
  • Stakeholder analysis prioritises engagement actions for high-impact and influential groups
  • Sponsor roadmap schedules visible leadership actions, decisions and communication moments
  • ADKAR and readiness findings shape capability, support and resistance responses
  • Integrated plan aligns communications, transition milestones, measures and sustainment actions
  • Peer review tests feasibility, omissions, dependencies, risks and presentation clarity

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Change diagnostic and impact assessment template
  2. Stakeholder map and engagement register
  3. Sponsor roadmap and RACI matrix
  4. Change communications and manager briefing plan
  5. Readiness, resistance and adoption measurement dashboard
  6. Integrated change leadership plan

Who should attend

  • Senior Managers — leading service, policy, technology or operating-model changes
  • Programme Managers — coordinating delivery and adoption across complex workstreams
  • Project Managers — adding people-focused change actions to implementation plans
  • Transformation Leads — structuring organisation-wide change programmes and governance
  • HR and OD Managers — supporting workforce transition, capability and culture change
  • Operational Managers — maintaining performance while teams adopt new processes

Skills and tools covered

Change diagnosisStakeholder engagementResistance managementSponsor alignmentAdoption measurementTransition planning

Tools and standards

Kotter’s 8-Step Process, ADKAR Model, Bridges Transition Model, RACI Matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by case analysis, group exercises, decision simulations and structured application planning. Cases examine issues such as bank system implementation, public-service reform, post-merger integration and NGO operating-model change. Participants test assumptions with peers, practise sponsor and resistance conversations, and receive instructor feedback on their plans. Each module adds a practical component to an individual change initiative, allowing participants to connect concepts directly to their workplace responsibilities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience managing people, projects, services or operational improvement work. They should understand how decisions, budgets, roles and reporting lines operate within their organisation, and should be prepared to discuss a current or anticipated change initiative. Previous formal training in change management is not required. Participants do not need project management certification, specialist psychology knowledge, financial modelling skills or responsibility for a large transformation programme. The course is suitable for managers who influence change through line leadership, programme roles or cross-functional working.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have experience managing people, projects, operations or improvement work. No previous change management qualification is required, but familiarity with your organisation’s current priorities will help you apply the methods.

Bring details of a current, planned or recently completed change initiative where possible. Useful material includes a project brief, organisation chart, process map, implementation plan or stakeholder list, subject to your organisation’s confidentiality rules.

It is designed for managers, programme and project professionals, transformation staff, HR and OD practitioners, and operational leaders. It suits people responsible for gaining adoption as well as those responsible for delivery milestones.

Project management focuses on scope, schedule, cost, risk and delivery controls. This course concentrates on sponsorship, stakeholder commitment, communication, capability, resistance and sustained use of the new way of working.

You will leave with an integrated change leadership plan that can be adapted for your initiative. The plan includes practical actions for sponsors, managers, communications, readiness, resistance and adoption measurement.

The first week establishes diagnosis, stakeholder, vision, sponsorship and communication methods while participants begin their own plan. The second week develops resistance, readiness, transition, measurement and sustainment work, ending with a capstone review and presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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